She wouldn’t last but minutes.

  “Tell us why you’re here, Thressa,” I commanded, activating the geas I still held over her.

  “Iona sent me.” Thressa’s voice was raspy and weak.

  “Yes, we know. Why?” Erynn kneeled at her former lover’s side. My guard’s face was a kaleidoscope of emotions, first angry and distrustful, then sad and worried.

  Lyall crossed his arms, doing a good impression of Rorik.

  “I led you to Iona’s stronghold.” Blood bubbled from between Thressa’s lips. She took a rasping breath, and I wondered if she was even still lucid. “Which she then abandoned because of the tatzelwurm. She never forgave me for my transgressions. I thought to regain her trust by securing Merc for her, but even that wasn’t enough.”

  “What?” My heart leapt into my throat. “Tell me, do the Unseelie have Merc?”

  Kenji came to my side, now dressed in fabrics borrowed along the palace tree’s main corridor. He squeezed me to his side, trying to reassure me as I hung on Thressa’s words.

  “Yes,” Thressa smiled a bloody smile, but the mirth didn’t reach her eyes. “What a fool I was. Iona has Merc, but she is not appeased.”

  “You brought Merc into the Encante?” I wanted to kill Thressa myself.

  What would that do to a human? The few humans who managed to cross the veil often got trapped in the Edge or eaten by legendary creatures they’d once thought myths. Others were seduced by the Fae, who in more recent times might try to escort them back to the human realm, but even the lucky ones who survived would never be the same. Did anyone truly know what long-term effects the powerful magic of the Encante itself might have on a human?

  “Yes. Iona says you must choose who she kills first… your father or your human.” Then she turned her head. “I’m sorry, Erynn.”

  She rolled her head, looking at her former lover, the Elf she tricked into falling for her and then betrayed by revealing her loyalties to the Unseelie cause. Looking into Erynn’s eyes seemed to lend her strength.

  “I should have stayed and become a good lover to you, Erynn. I should have joined forces with the Seelie and helped you crush Iona and… her despicable regime. She’s dishonorable, incapable of being redeemed. I should have fought… Iona at your side.”

  “You still can.” Erynn choked on her tears as Thressa weakened. She stared up at me from her place at Thressa’s side. “Glori, please. Heal her.”

  I shared a look with Kenji, who frowned. My stomach revolted at the thought of healing the very person who kidnapped Merc and brought her here. But then I realized Thressa might not live long enough to tell us where she’d taken Merc if I didn’t. I went down to one knee beside the gurney.

  “Glori…” Lyall started, but it was Rorik’s voice that rang out. “Don’t heal her, my queen.”

  I stiffened in surprise. Rorik must have made his way down the tree while I wasn’t paying attention. His chest still heaved with exertion from running.

  “Don’t you see, Erynn?” His voice was strong but held pity for his fellow guard. “This is another of Iona’s tests of loyalty.” He shook his head at me. “If she lives, her mission will be as a spy once more.”

  I hesitated, considering his words. When I glanced from Rorik down to Thressa, the Elf’s eyes were locked open, her chest still. Erynn let out a wail and cried, “Save her, please. Do something.”

  Lyall laid a hand on Erynn’s shoulder. “It’s too late. Not even a queen can revive the dead.”

  As Erynn cried, surrounded by both troops and civilians, my heart went out to her. We might never know if Rorik was right.

  “I should have figured out she was an Unseelie sooner,” Erynn cried, her head bowed. “We could have prevented all of this. She didn’t have to die.”

  “I’m sorry, Erynn,” I whispered as I got to my feet, angry at Thressa on her behalf, and angry at Thressa for not telling me where Iona held her prisoners — my father and Merc.

  My mind chased itself, thinking through everything Thressa had said, searching for clues.

  I raised my head and met Lyall’s eyes, trying to word my thoughts so as to avoid the geas. “Would you please send someone into the human realm to check on Merc?”

  Lyall nodded and turned to Fen. “Please choose two others — not of the Guard — to accompany you to the human realm.” He then faced our youngest guard and squeezed Erynn’s shoulder. “You can’t blame yourself for Thressa’s actions. The responsibility for ascertaining her loyalty was mine, not yours, but even then, only Thressa was responsible for the actions she took and the decisions she made.”

  Then he blurred away, back toward the palace tree, his words still lingering in the air. It made me wonder if he, too, might be on the path toward self-forgiveness. Fen followed behind.

  “I should have—” Erynn wailed, and I squeezed her shoulder just as Lyall had.

  “No, Erynn,” I said. “Lyall is right. Thressa’s actions were her own. You couldn’t have known, and you can’t keep blaming yourself.”

  Erynn wiped her face and then got to her feet. Still, she said nothing. I tried to think of what might reassure her.

  “Because you helped rescue the Duwende at Iona’s stronghold, Maeve lives another day. She will replenish her people’s magic. The Duwende still live because of you, Erynn.”

  “But some of them died,” Erynn whispered. “Maeve’s consorts and guards…”

  I grabbed her arm, pulling her to look at me. I had faced my mistakes and learned to look forward instead of back. Now I needed Erynn to do the same. Because we would need everyone for what was coming next.

  Staring her in the eyes, I willed her to stop beating herself up. “I know, Erynn, but we’re at war.”

  I raised my voice, knowing that all of the Seelie troops were listening, along with other Fae citizens. “We must accept there will be some setbacks and even some sacrifices along the path to victory over the Unseelie.”

  I just hoped Merc wouldn’t be one of those sacrifices. I wasn’t sure I could trust Thressa, even under my geas, in her final moments. Iona had never given me proof she held my father captive. Was Thressa really so desperate for Iona’s approval that she’d delivered Merc into her hands? Why would Thressa face death instead of defecting to the Seelie?

  The power of the Tree of Life filled me, a reassuring, calming presence that fueled my determination.

  Letting my gaze slide from one Fae face to another, I reminded them all, “The Seelie are stronger for our differences, where the Unseelie are weaker for embracing only uniformity. Together, we will ensure all Fae remain equal, replenishing magic for all Fae races. The Seelie are Fae, and the Fae are one. The Fae are my people, and I will not let the Unseelie tear us apart!”

  All at once, the green-clad troops let out a shout of approval. The sound echoed off the massive boles around us, making them sound like so many more. Despite the show of force here, we didn’t outnumber the Unseelie. Our best chance at winning relied on all Seelie regaining their magic, and none of us knew how to bring that about. Yet.

  But restoring Fae magic wasn’t enough for me anymore. Rorik was right to want vengeance, I realized as my anger grew. It was clearer than ever that Iona was a monster, and, under her leadership, the Unseelie had killed and tortured too many to count — starting with the Last Queen, her guards, and her consorts. They’d killed my mother, as well as the Veela and Kitsune heirs. Una had lost two of her consorts to the Unseelie, and they’d tortured Maeve and murdered her consorts in cold blood in front of her.

  If Iona truly had Merc, I would not rest until my friend was safe.

  Before the Day of Darkness, I would end the Unseelie threat once and for all. Or die trying.

  ~The End~

  Can Glori and her consorts stop the Unseelie and rescue Merc before the Day of Darkness?

  (Swipe for a preview of the series finale!)

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  I may not be an experienced warrior, but I won’t let my lovers fight my battles for me.

  In search of any advantage against the Unseelie, my guards sneak me back through enemy territory to commune with the Tree of Life in the hopes of uncovering long-forgotten secrets.

  Our only chance at survival will require all of us to master new magic and overcome old wounds. My capable guardleader will need a confidence boost. My proud warrior will need to forgive an oathbreaker. And I’ll need to learn how to love like a true Fae.

  But it may already be too late to save my father and my best friend. The Unseelie hold them both captive, giving me an impossible choice — save one and let the other die.

  Warrior Queen is the sixth and final book in Our Fae Queen, a reverse harem series. Steamy M/M and group interactions always involve Glori.

  Get ready for epic fantasy battles and the hottest book yet! Will Glori maintain her bonds with all of her consorts?

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  Turn the page for a sneak peek…

  ~|~|~|~

  Our Fae Queen Book 6

  Excerpt from Gloriana

  As soon as I crossed into the common room, I saw Angel. He rushed forward to embrace me, and I covered him in kisses, reveling in the feeling of my lips against his once more.

  When I let him come up for air, he laughed. “I wasn’t gone that long.”

  “Long enough,” I said. “Did you have fun with your new powers?”

  “Yes, and Una and Maeve have returned. Did you want to go see them?”

  “All that matters is whether they can pull it off,” I said. “Me being there won’t change anything. So let’s just wait here.”

  Angel sat down next to me in the chairs at the center of the common room. Nolan paced nearby, his bond heavy with worry and self-recrimination.

  “So, what cool new things can you do?” I asked.

  “Most of them aren’t fun to demonstrate indoors.” Angel gave me his usual lopsided grin. “I doubt you want me to open up a storm cloud in here.”

  “Only if you can also magically clean up the mess afterward.”

  “We didn’t practice anything so boring as cleaning.”

  “So you can create storms and predict the future, what else? It’s gotta be more interesting than the magic Santa brought to me. Nolan mentioned some Nixies were able to cause illness through touch.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re jealous of my awesome Nixie magic.” Angel beamed over at me. “Apparently that illness thing works better on humans than the Fae, but it could have some use on the battlefield, perhaps. We didn’t practice that either.”

  Nolan and I weren’t the only ones thinking about how this new magic might give us the advantage over the Unseelie.

  “Oh, and of course there’s finally a use for this.” He tilted his chin down and pointed at the blow hole in the top of his skull. “It turns out Brazil’s legends of the pink dolphins are true. I can’t wait to show you.”

  It was hard to imagine Angel transforming into a pink dolphin, but then again it had taken me a while to adjust to the notion of my ability to become to become a squirrel, cat, or other woodland creature.

  “So what about Valente? Is he a dolphin like you, or is he like one of those water horses from legend who enchant humans and drown them in the river?”

  At Valente’s name, Angel’s sapphire eyes darted over to me. A flicker of emotions traveled down the bond so fast, I couldn’t identify them all. I narrowed my eyes as a wave of jealousy flared in my chest. Valente had been there to see Angel transform for the first time, and I hadn’t. I’d seen the flirtatious way Angel and Valente practiced during training, and it made me wonder once again whether Angel and Valente would have been lovers if Angel weren’t pledged to me as my consort.

  “No, he’s not of the Kelpie variety.” Angel’s words snapped me out of my thoughts. “We are the same, both dolphins. I enjoyed watching my fellow Nixies try out their new forms, and I think I saw every possible variation. Some are Kelpies, as you described, though I promise we’ll use our magic for good.”

  “Whew.” I forced a grin and tried to shove down my jealousy, though Angel no doubt felt it through the bond.

  “We can also change into water snakes or fish.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure those forms will be of much use to us against the Unseelie.”

  It was strange to hear Angel talking so much about our future battles. With his martial arts and fighting experience, Kenji’s protective instincts and calm strategic mind had made him a natural among my guard. But Angel was a musician, and had always been more of a lover than a fighter. Still, I knew that he wanted to protect me just as much as Kenji or any of the others did.

  Angel and I continued talking for a few more minutes, when Nolan suddenly stopped pacing. He froze in his tracks, facing me with a look of surprise on his face.

  “They did it!” The joy and relief in his bond nearly crushed me.

  Nolan nearly crushed me into the chair with his embrace. I scooted forward to embrace him properly.

  “It works,” he whispered. “Duwende magic has returned.”

  I gazed into Nolan’s fiery orange eyes, sharing in his excitement. “Does this mean I’m going to lose you for a while, too?”

  “Perhaps, but only for a short time, my queen,” he promised. “No doubt the other Duwende will find it best to practice away from the other Fae.”

  I agreed, though I didn’t like my consorts being away from me right now. I already felt worried about Merc, and I didn’t want to lose track of anyone else’s whereabouts until this was all over.

  Angel chuckled. “That was much faster than when we did the ceremony.”

  “Maeve has fewer consorts than Glori.” Nolan pointed out, his fiery gaze now leveled on Angel.

  “Before you go, is there anything you can show off first?” Angel’s mouth quirked up mischievously.

  “Like this?” Nolan pulled away from me.

  And then he was gone.

  My heart practically stopped beating. I glanced around the room, looking for any sign of him. After several long moments, Nolan reappeared on the other side of the common room, toward the bathing chamber.

  “Teleportation?” Angel gasped.

  “Sadly, no.” Nolan admitted. “Invisibility.”

  “That’s so cool!” Angel said, getting to his feet. “Do it again.” He circled around Nolan.

  My Duwende consort obliged and disappeared once again. Angel waved his arms around and laughed when he came in contact with Nolan.

  “I said invisible, not incorporeal.” Nolan’s disembodied laugh made me chuckle.

  Their antics brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart. It was good to hear Nolan laugh.

  Three of the Fae races had regained what had been lost for almost two millennia. Thanks to Angel’s vision, we knew that Veela magic would eventually return as well, which meant it was very likely for the Kitsune, too. Neither race had a living heir, so if one could regain their magic, I had hope that the other could as well.

  Now we just needed to figure out how.

  ~|~|~|~

  Can Glori and her consorts uncover the Last Queen's secrets and finally revive magic for all Fae?

  Find out in Warrior Queen!

  < Read the next book >

  Acknowledgments

  I wrote Book 5 during pandemic times in May and June 2020, during all the uncertainty and lockdowns. Maybe it was cabin fever that inspired me to make this book so much steamier than the ones before. (I promise Book 6 will be even hotter!)

  Having the virtual company of my critique partners and reader team during lockdown helped me keep my sanity. So thank you to Ed and Jim along with my cheerleaders, Mayara Oliveira, Andréa T., and Bianca, for keeping me going! Trust me, there’s nothing an author likes hearing more than “this is my favorite book yet!”